Standing in obedience
This week's vaguely awesome Bible goodness is on 2 Chronicles 20:15-17:
It all starts with Israel's neighbors gathering on all sides to do battle against them. Freaky. Israel was outnumbered and surrounded. They cried out to God, asking for some help, because it was more than they could handle on their own. God's response is our lesson this week.
The king cries out on behalf of Israel. That's how things were before Jesus died and gave us a direct connection. People cried out to kings, and kings cried out to God. Now we don't need them, but at the time, that's what people wanted. Anyway, a prophet named Jahaziel heard God's answer and shared it in Israel's version of Congress.
Anyway, unsurprisingly, God heard their cry. He knows they're outnumbered. He knows they're scared. He's got it covered, but they still need to get off the couch and do something. They need to show up to the battle, but God will do the fighting. As a flourish to show his amazingness, God gives them the enemy's battle plans, and how they will show up, so that Israel will know where to stand to see his Holy smackdown.
If you read past what the verses this week say, you'll find that the three armies that had risen up against Israel ended up fighting each other and wiping themselves out. All Israel had to do is watch the carnage! What if they'd just stayed home and "trusted God" to take care of their battle for them? Would they have known what happened? Or would they have explained it away as an unfounded threat that an imaginary God never needed to respond to? What if they'd ignored the prophetic intervention in their lives, and decided that it was too critical of a battle to trust the words of some unknown prophet who didn't have his own book in the Bible? Do you think the three armies would have fought each other to the death if Israel had attacked them that morning?
A lot of people see both of those extremes (couch-sitting and miracle-meddling) as their only options, without realizing that sometimes God does the heavy lifting in conjunction with us. It's not ours alone to handle all the time, but it's not always God the Pizza Delivery Guy who does all the work and drops a miracle off on our doorstep for a crappy 10% tip either. Sometimes there's a beautiful collaboration, or in cases like this, he just wants his beloved to see what he's done for them.
Next time you're in a bind, and you can't handle things on your own, be open to God's third option. It's the one where he takes your hand and you fix it together, even if your job is to do nothing but hold his hand while he fixes things. Next time he says "Stand over there," don't think "Oh crap, what's next after that?" Maybe that's all he's asking of you.
He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’”
It all starts with Israel's neighbors gathering on all sides to do battle against them. Freaky. Israel was outnumbered and surrounded. They cried out to God, asking for some help, because it was more than they could handle on their own. God's response is our lesson this week.
The king cries out on behalf of Israel. That's how things were before Jesus died and gave us a direct connection. People cried out to kings, and kings cried out to God. Now we don't need them, but at the time, that's what people wanted. Anyway, a prophet named Jahaziel heard God's answer and shared it in Israel's version of Congress.
Anyway, unsurprisingly, God heard their cry. He knows they're outnumbered. He knows they're scared. He's got it covered, but they still need to get off the couch and do something. They need to show up to the battle, but God will do the fighting. As a flourish to show his amazingness, God gives them the enemy's battle plans, and how they will show up, so that Israel will know where to stand to see his Holy smackdown.
If you read past what the verses this week say, you'll find that the three armies that had risen up against Israel ended up fighting each other and wiping themselves out. All Israel had to do is watch the carnage! What if they'd just stayed home and "trusted God" to take care of their battle for them? Would they have known what happened? Or would they have explained it away as an unfounded threat that an imaginary God never needed to respond to? What if they'd ignored the prophetic intervention in their lives, and decided that it was too critical of a battle to trust the words of some unknown prophet who didn't have his own book in the Bible? Do you think the three armies would have fought each other to the death if Israel had attacked them that morning?
A lot of people see both of those extremes (couch-sitting and miracle-meddling) as their only options, without realizing that sometimes God does the heavy lifting in conjunction with us. It's not ours alone to handle all the time, but it's not always God the Pizza Delivery Guy who does all the work and drops a miracle off on our doorstep for a crappy 10% tip either. Sometimes there's a beautiful collaboration, or in cases like this, he just wants his beloved to see what he's done for them.
Next time you're in a bind, and you can't handle things on your own, be open to God's third option. It's the one where he takes your hand and you fix it together, even if your job is to do nothing but hold his hand while he fixes things. Next time he says "Stand over there," don't think "Oh crap, what's next after that?" Maybe that's all he's asking of you.
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